


Be Glad Whatever Comes, at Least to Know, You Have Your Quarrel Just

by FredGodOf



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Amazo, F/M, M/M, Mirakuru, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 14:18:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3071276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FredGodOf/pseuds/FredGodOf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slade Wilson's feelings regarding Oliver, shortly after imprisoning him on the Amazo.  By nature rather unhinged.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Be Glad Whatever Comes, at Least to Know, You Have Your Quarrel Just

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from Pro Patria http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Poems_of_the_Great_War/Pro_Patria a rather insipid poem trying to extort young men to enlist in WWI. For a much better poem dying for one's country in WWI please see Dulce Et Decorum Est http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dulce_et_Decorum_est_%28Stallworthy_edition%29

Slade patrols the boat restlessly.   The crew flinches and cowers whenever they notice him, which isn't often, his uniform blends into the shadows and he was damn good before the mirakuru, now he's fantastic.

  
He gets bored of making the crew jump and fleetingly thinks that its entirely possible for them to break something important in surprise and he suspects he doesn't really want to have to steer the ship on his own.  It would be possible probably, but annoying.  

  
Resolving to avoid the crew he finds himself standing in front of Oliver's cage.  Oliver is still sprawled on the floor, his eyes shut and his face bruising ever more colorfully. Slade crouches in front of him and watches his chest rise and fall steadily, hypnotically.  Its amazing that Oliver is still alive.  That he's survived this long on the grace of others.  Slade shifts to sit on the floor.  He should have  killed him when he met him.  He was weak and harmless then.  Only good at appealing to people's better instincts.  Yao Fei's, his own, Shado's.  Shado and Yao Fei were both dead now, and Oliver was weaker then either of them had ever been, and they had died not knowing how low he was.

  
Slade wonders if he's only alive because he's figured it out, if he'd gone on trusting him he probably would have died too. Maybe not today, but tomorrow, or the next time Oliver was in danger.

  
Oliver shifts and Slade can seem him stifle the cry of pain.  Slade thinks he might have dislocated his shoulder, he  wasn't particularly paying attention.  He's a bit proud that he's finally taught Oliver not to show his weakness.  Oliver looks up and seeing Slade startles away and stifles another cry of pain.  The boy doesn't try and explain himself this time, just holds still and waits to see what Slade does.

  
It seems he's learning all sorts of lessons.  Slade doesn't say anything, just waits and watches him.  Oliver holds perfectly still for ten minutes and then starts to slump.  Slade figures he must have been up for almost twenty four hours now.,  He's weak.   Slade barely sleeps anymore.  Hasn't  slept for more than a few hours since the last time Oliver had crawled into his bunk.  
That had been three nights ago, he hadn't come the night before they had launched their attack.  Slade almost had expected Oliver and Sarah to end up in bed together, after their talk about what to tell the folks back home.  Slade was with Sarah, the conclusions that his ex would be given by the government would be much kinder then the truth.  Adelaide didn't need to know that Billy had betrayed him.  Then again maybe she would have figured it out, people didn't seem very inclined not to turn on him.  He thought Billy had taught him not to trust anyone, then Oliver had crawled under his skin, unashamed of how weak he was. He wore his helplessness like armor and  it kept protecting him.

  
Oliver's eyes have crept shut again.

  
"Did you fuck Yao Fei?" Slade asks and is childishly pleased when Oliver starts and winces.

  
"What?"  Oliver asks,  his voice hoarse.

  
Slade reaches through the bars and runs his hand over Oliver's shoulder.  He put Oliver in the smallest cell, there's not space to get far enough away from the edge to be out of reach. His shoulder is definitely out of socket.  He grabs a hold of Oliver's arm and yanks and his shoulder slides back into place.  Oliver isn't able to muffle his cry this time.

  
"Did you fuck Yao Fei?"  Slade asks again, he slips his hand down to hold his fingers over Oliver's pulse.  Oliver is holding still,  trying not seem afraid,  but his pulse is rabbit quick under his touch.

  
"No."  Oliver answers, no change in pace.  Maybe Oliver had counted on Yao Fei treating him like a son.  Slade twists his arm, not enough to pull it back out of socket, just enough to make Oliver try and pull away.

  
"Did you think that you could twist me around your finger like you did Shado?"

  
"I didn't twist Shado around my finger."  Oliver protests and Slade twists his arm sharply the other way.  Oliver has tears on his cheeks now.  Slade knows he's trying to play him but Slade has caught on, he should save his tears, Slade isn't sure when he'll feel like giving him water.   That had been something Fyers' had been fond of.  Not giving Slade food or water till he was barely conscious.  That and standing and watching while Billy put knives through him.  That man had had some twisted thing about making men betray each other.  Slade should have learned his lesson properly.   

  
"Why did you crawl into bed with me?" Slade asks and adjusts his grip on Oliver's wrist.

  
"Because you wouldn't go to sleep."  Oliver says and there's no skip in his pulse.

  
Slade frowns at him and Oliver continues.   "After the Mirakuru you wouldn't sleep more then an hour or so.  Every time I woke up you were pacing back and forth or off patrolling.  Sarah said the same thing."  

  
"Did you draw straw for who fucked me into unconsciousness then?" Slade asks.

  
"No, Slade."  Oliver says and pushes himself up with his free arm so he can look Slade in the eye.  "No, I care about you, I wanted you and I would have been in your bed a lot sooner if I hadn't thought you would have kicked me out."  There's no change in his pulse, he must be panicked enough that there's no difference between his lies and the truth.  Slade drops his arm in disgust and stands up.  

  
"You're going to stop lying to me kid."  Slade snarls and paces away.  When he turns back around Oliver is sitting up, clutching his arm to his side and looking like a kicked puppy, Slade knows better than to trust those eyes.  He knows what Oliver is.  It's Oliver's turn to learn who he's dealing with.  
  



End file.
